Teen who pleaded guilty to misleading police gave 'false hope' after Tyson MacDonald died: Crown
CBC
A sentencing hearing is underway in a packed Georgetown courtroom for a teenager who pleaded guilty to misleading police after Tyson MacDonald disappeared in eastern P.E.I. in mid-December.
The 17-year-old's body was later found in a wooded area, and two youths were charged in his death.
Opening the sentencing hearing before Judge Nancy Orr, Crown prosecutor Jeff MacDonald said the teen being sentenced "frustrated the efforts of all those searching for Tyson" after he vanished, and gave the community "false hope" that he was alive and well somewhere.
"I have cried every day since Dec. 14, 2023, and it all started with lies," Tyson's mother Amanda MacDonald wrote in a victim impact statement, which was read out by a Victim Services staff member.
Orr is expected to deliver her ruling on sentencing at 2 p.m. AT.
A publication ban under the Youth Criminal Justice Act prevents CBC News from naming either of the two accused people, as well as any details that could lead to their being identifiable to the public.
As the victim, Tyson MacDonald's name was also covered by the Youth Criminal Justice Act, but the family gave permission for CBC News to identify him.
As has happened for every court appearance the accused have made in the case so far, friends and relatives of MacDonald marched outside the courthouse Friday morning holding signs calling for justice for the Montague Regional High School Grade 12 student.
They and others later crowded into the courthouse, but an official had to stop letting people in, apologizing and saying he "can't stretch the walls" of the room.
The teen who pleaded guilty to misleading police was led into the courthouse in shackles, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans.
The victim impact statements were read out in court to let the accused and the community hear "the pain that's been caused" and mark "a path forward for accountability," the Crown prosecutor said.
"He made the decision to be selfish and he lied," Tyson's sister Brittany wrote of the teen being sentenced. "He took away my family's opportunity to say goodbye."
Another statement was read out on behalf of Montague Regional High School principal Robyn MacDonald.
"Our school has suffered loss many times before," she wrote in the statement. "We've lost students, staff members, and community members. One of our staff members has lost 10 students during their career at MRHS."
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